Davis School District amps up coding program for younger students

The Davis School District has received a $207,255 STEM Action Center grant to teach coding skills to all elementary school students and increase computer science opportunities for junior high students.

FARMINGTON — The Davis School District has received a $207,255 STEM Action Center grant to teach coding skills to all elementary school students and increase computer science opportunities for junior high students.

Thirty-three elementary schools in the district have volunteered to participate in this initiative during the 2017-18 school year, and the remaining 29 elementary schools will begin participation in the 2018-19 school year.

The program will integrate a computer science program for the more than 35,000 elementary students in the district with the help of the Utah nonprofit BootUp, the United Way and Peter Rich, a BYU education professor.

Students will learn to code through a variety of resources including Code.org, Case Studio, Scratch, Scratch Jr. and BootUp’s curriculum resources.

Planning for computer science opportunities in the junior high schools is also a priority so that a true K-12 computer science pipeline will be created. Through this initiative, students will have access to coding and computer science during the regular school day, not only as a club or after-school activity.

“Coding underwrites every piece of our current life,” curriculum director Belinda Kuck said in a statement. “Our kids need exposure and opportunities to learn how to code, to understand how life in this technological age works. We want to give them the opportunity to create and be a part of the coding community if that is their choice.”